1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication method and apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for communication between a server and a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) over an Internet-based network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the development of communication technologies, there is a growing interest in technologies for connecting home information appliances to a network. Accordingly, many technologies have been developed to connect home information appliances to an external device, such as a server of a mobile service operator network, over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, and to manage the information appliances. Information security technology should be employed to securely and reliably provide such network technologies, and technology for an interface between different devices should be standardized to realize reliable/compatible/interactive networks.
Organizations for standardization of such technologies include a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) forum, an International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), and a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) forum. Among them, the DSL forum is the leading organization and has proposed TR-069 as a standardized protocol.
TR-069, a technology recently getting worldwide attention, realizes a method of comprehensively controlling and managing Customer Premise Equipments (CPEs) existing in the home, such as a DSL modem, an Internet gateway device, and a Set-Top Box (STB), over an Automatic Configuration Server (ACS) or a remote control server.
Conventionally, a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) has been widely used to control CPEs by means of an external remote device. However, as it is not standardized, a Management Information Base (MIB) data configuration is different for every service provider, and its security is somewhat vulnerable. Accordingly, technology transitions are being made to the TR-069 technology and, therefore, many service providers require the TR-069 technology.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and an apparatus for exchanging inform messages by a CPE in a power standby state.